How Financial Institutions Can Build Customer Trust in a Digital World

By Elizabeth Tobey, Head of Marketing, FluenCX, NICE

Elizabeth Tobey

Financial institutions are currently faced with a growing, unique set of challenges. Given the current global financial market volatility and the rapid pace of digitalization, FIs are in a position unlike anything they’ve previously seen. Customer trust is on the line, and FIs need to map out a plan and respond.

The pandemic pushed the world into a new digital era. Online business and digital banking had already become the norm, but the pandemic accelerated their prevalence to new levels. Customers expect to be met at any point on their journey and to receive the same level of service and security they would get when interacting with a bot as they would with a human agent. If financial institutions expect to adequately address their customer’s needs, build trust and establish loyalty, they must set a digital-first customer experience. CXi (customer experience interactions) is the foundation of this approach.

According to the Gartner® 2023 CIO Agenda insights for the Banking and Investment Industry, CIOs reported the top enterprise priorities as growth, digital transformation and consumer/user experience. 95% of CIOs also responded that artificial intelligence and machine learning will be the technologies most likely to be implemented by 2025. We think these priorities are key components of CXi. The tools are there for FIs to map out a solid plan for their digital future.

Self-service customers can depend on

According to a June 2022 survey by PYMNTS, consumers are “very or extremely interested” in digital-only banking. Banking customers desire the ability to monitor their finances in real-time, seeing their transactions moment-by-moment without stepping into a physical location. Customers can check account status, perform transactions, and plan their financial futures on mobile devices. AI and automation are driving this change, and the benefits of speed and agility they bring to the customer experience continue to advance.

As financial services become increasingly digital, bots have grown in prominence. Bots, however, have gotten a bad reputation, mainly due to usage difficulties in the early days. To build customer trust in the digital era, banks must build automation tools and bots that customers can rely on and prefer to human-led interactions. Intelligent bots that can provide comprehensive support with human-level understanding need to be trained by powerful AI that understands optimal consumer experiences and outcomes. They are continuously learning how to respond better.

One of the most talked-about bots today is ChatGPT. While this technology has been around for years, its acceptance and wider use in the mainstream have reached a tipping point with its recent explosive popularity. ChatGPT’s responses sound authentically human. When the generative AI used by ChatGPT is integrated with historical business data modeled specifically for the needs of banks and their customers, bots can now potentially deliver the same level of service a customer would get from a human agent. This is next level proactive, human-like self-service.

As CXi grows in prevalence and sophistication, self-service will become increasingly reliable for any customer issue – even higher-tier or complex financial topics. A CXi-fluent bank will meet customers at their digital touchpoint of choice, and they will no longer use their banking app only to check account balances but will also rely on them for more complex applications. As AI continues to train bots to offer more intelligent service, the line between the level of service provided by bots versus a human agent continues to blur.

Assuring customers their data is secure

According to Gartner 2023 CIO Agenda insights for the Banking and Investment Industry, 63% of CIOs will spend more on cybersecurity and information security in 2023 compared with 2022. This was the top response of where investments will go in 2023.

Given that this is a such a prominent focus, it is critical that FIs put a focus on data. Financial institutions that master CXi put data at the forefront of every action and interaction. Through the Suiteform approach, FIs can place all their customer data on the same open cloud platform, shareable across a suite of best-of-breed solutions. This approach eliminates the complicated tech stack that has become commonplace, putting all of the data in one, easy to access location. It also cuts down on siloes and potential gaps in security, allowing CXi-fluent banks to assure customers that their personal is supported by secure data, no matter where it begins or how it evolves.

Embracing Digital

Financial institutions should continue to embrace this move into the digital world, charting their future with a solid CXi foundation. During times of change, it’s easy to be skeptical and uneasy about new ways of doing things. But rest assured, customers will be excited about the advancements transforming the way they do their banking, setting the groundwork for a more stable, secure, and seamless financial future.

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